Papa Murphy’s Scalable Business Model: An Inside Look

A Pizza Franchise Built to Grow

What if your pizza franchise didn’t need a dining room, delivery fleet, or traditional pizza oven to serve guests? That’s where Papa Murphy’s starts to stand apart, giving franchisees a scalable business model built around a national brand, a loyal guest base, and a Take ‘N’ Bake format that changes the traditional restaurant equation. Guests pick up their pizzas fresh and finish them in their own ovens, allowing franchisees to run a streamlined operation without the infrastructure that comes with a traditional dine-in or delivery pizza business. That unique setup gives owners a different way to think about restaurant ownership, especially when multiple locations are part of the plan.

The Papa Murphy’s opportunity also comes with systems and support designed to help owners carry what they learn from one location into the next. Training, operational guidance, marketing support, and multi-unit ownership opportunities give franchisees a structure they can build on as their footprint grows. Instead of creating a completely different operation with every new store, owners can work from the same core model that’s allowed our brand to grow to nearly 1,000 locations across the country. 

Add a menu built around fresh-made pizzas, customizable toppings, and options that let guests make their order their own, and franchisees have a chance to offer a trusted dining option for everything from family dinners and weeknight meals to game nights, gatherings, and casual celebrations.

Support That Helps Every New Store Take Shape

Expanding a Papa Murphy’s footprint involves many decisions before a new store opens, and franchisees have support to help them navigate those steps. That can include help identifying and working with brokers, reviewing potential sites in person, evaluating site plans and architectural drawings, navigating lease negotiations, and supporting store construction. Having that involvement throughout the development process gives owners a consistent source of guidance as they move from one location to the next.

That support also extends beyond real estate and construction, with initial training, marketing support, and other assistance available as franchisees grow. Whether an owner is planning for multiple locations upfront or expanding over time, having the same support structure behind each store gives the Papa Murphy’s model the flexibility to scale with their plans, letting franchisees focus on where they want to grow while our team helps bring each location to life.

What Makes Papa Murphy’s Scalable Business Model Work?

Take ‘N’ Bake is at the center of Papa Murphy’s approach. Traditional pizza restaurants can require ovens, delivery operations, dining areas, and the staffing needed to keep all of those pieces running. Papa Murphy’s removes several of those moving parts by having customers finish the baking at home. That means franchisees can focus their teams on preparing orders and serving guests without managing delivery drivers or the ongoing upkeep of a dining room.

The format creates a more focused operating setup:

• No in-store ovens: Customers handle the baking at home, so franchisees don’t need to operate a traditional pizza kitchen built around ovens.
• No delivery drivers: Owners can build their staffing model around the work happening inside the store rather than maintaining a delivery operation.
• No dining room to manage: There’s no dining area to staff, clean, or maintain throughout the day.
• Made for take-home orders: The entire customer flow is built around preparing fresh pizzas for guests to pick up and bake when they get home.
• Potentially lower overhead: The streamlined format can mean lower overhead than many traditional food franchise models.

Those differences matter when the same format needs to work across multiple locations. A scalable business model needs an approach that can be replicated without adding unnecessary complexity each time. Papa Murphy’s Take ‘N’ Bake format gives franchisees that starting point, while the brand’s training and support help owners put it into practice across their locations.

Bring Your Multi-Unit Plans Into Focus With Papa Murphy’s

Papa Murphy’s gives franchisees different ways to approach growth, whether they’re mapping out multiple locations upfront or looking for an opportunity they can expand over time. With a streamlined restaurant model, multi-unit ownership options, and support across the development and operation of each store, franchisees have a flexible path for building their business around their own plans and goals.

There’s a lot to consider before deciding whether Papa Murphy’s is the right fit, from the initial investment and startup costs to training, ongoing support, and available growth markets. Our research pages walk through those details so you can get a clearer picture of what ownership involves and how the pieces of our scalable business model come together. Once you’ve dug into the opportunity, fill out the inquiry form to connect with the Papa Murphy’s franchise team and take the next step with a nationally recognized, leading pizza franchise.